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When I was student of fine art at Tehran University, I used clay and made a goat (left) and during my PhD studies I also made a Rhyton (right)
Nomad children usually make their statues with clay.
Photo by Raheleh Zomorodina
In 2006, at The Persian Gulf environmental Art Festival, I suggested the students to make status and relief out of clay
In the 18th Environmental Art Festival in Polour, I also recommend dirt to be used for environmental installation.
In this festival some of the works were decorated by Hormoz red soil.
In autumn of 2009 I visited some handcraft workshops in Minab, and I bought a new statue of a camel.
In Minab I noticed that some subject matter that wouldn’t elsewhere, for example monkeys are not found anymore.
Small mill, toy for children
Kiln for baking pottery and statues.
Photo by Mohamad Amin Najafizadeh
According to a research by Mohsen Zareai, most of the artists who made these statues were women.
Kolsom Fakhari is one of the oldest women in Minab who made the statues.
Photo by Mohamad Amin Najafizadeh
It is very significant that traditional women made statues. During the Islamic period making statues was very rare. These statues were used as toys for children. This could be a reason that legitimized the making of statues. That is why this tradition could remain in Iran for some thousand years. It seems that in recent years only men make these statues.
In autumn of 2009 I traveled to Minab and saw the processes of shaping these statues. I learned that traditionally donkey manure is mixed with clay to make it stronger.
I searched donkey's dung in Polour and I was happy to use dirt from sinkhole and donkey manure to make art.
The color of the statue before baking
There is a strong connection between women and the earth.
On September 10th we visited, Johannesburg City: we walk alongside a local market in Alexander Township. I noticed that they sold pieces of dirt. I discovered that women, who are pregnant, traditionally eat these pieces of dirt. This indicated a link between being a mother and earth.
In the past time, people in Iran used earth for cleaning their bodies. Various colors of these can be found in traditional markets. They usually mix the earth with water and the liquid used for cleaning the body when people took baths.
In Hormozgan the earth is red and it comes from Lengeh.
I used this dirt for cleaning my body when I live in nature and also use them as color when I paint. It is important for us environmental artists to use components that are environmentally clean.
My mother showed me this plant. Its name is Eshlom or Ishnan. In the old time, people used the powder of this plant to wash their clothes.
There are many mysteries in the earth that we should learn.
Iran is a country in which when it rains you can feel the scent of the earth. I can feel it.
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